Hello, My Name Is Rei
by Waffuru Shojo
Summary: What appeared to be a blue Sentiant signal on Sage's radar was actually a discarded multilingual android in the form of a girl who's circuit board was glitching. Her main glitch: the first language that is spoken to her after activation is her dominant language. So, when Tezz answers in Russian? Just the tales of an alien android with no knowledge of earth whatsoever. R & R please.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey, second story! Wazzup, waffle girl here! Please tell me what you think of... This. *stares at Rei in corner* it'llher better, I promise! And yes, Rei is a multilingual android._

-beep. beep. beep. beep.-

"Well, she's online."

"Are you sure? I mean, she looks kind of..."

"Yes, I'm positive. What was the outcome the last time you doubted me?"

"Uhh..."

"Exactly."

"Hello, my name is Rei."

"Hola, mi nombre es Rei."

"Bonjour, mon nom est Rei."

"Hallo, mien name ist Rei."

"Ni hao, wo de mingzi Rei."

"Konnichiwa, watashi wa namaega Rei desu."

Tezz couldn't help but wonder what had just happened.

It had been just a regular day, except for the fact that he was actually out in the battle zone with them, instead of cooped up back at the hub with AJ and Sage.

The zone they'd been shipped off to was the same zone Sage had mentioned earlier that she may have picked up a blue sentient signal. The thought excited her, as always, and she was constantly on the intercom checking for updates on their progress. As of on cue, the com beeped once again.

"Have you found anything yet?" Sage questioned eagerly, having lost no enthusiasm from the previous check-in 5 minutes ago.

Vert sighed in exasperation. "No Sage, like I said, we will tell you when we find something. Alright?"

Sage's disappointment could easily be heard. "I understand. I will stop pestering you and leave you to search!" There was a happier tone at the end of her sentence, meaning she understood.

Vert, Agura, Sherman, Spinner, Tezz and and Zoom were all a bit relieved when Sage announced she would cease her constant checking in. That would give them some peace and quiet to explore. Yes, peace and quiet. Neither Sark, Vandal or Red Sentiant had yet to show in the water-based zone.

It was mostly ocean, with spiral tracks of land acting like bridges for them all to follow. On the larger chunks of land that the spiral bridges led too often had rock structures or caves with moss and other pretty alien plants growing over them. The sky was a very soft pink, with the white sun high in the sky.

Tezz insisted they search the nearby caves for any kind of life, as he was getting a weak carbon-based signal from his radar.

"Captian, I am telling you now. There is a carbon-based signal- much like the signal humans give off- coming from there." Vert knew he meant the cave. "If you would at least let me-"

"Tezz, what happened the last time you went off alone?" Vert retorted, with a very stern tone. One by one the team slowly stopped their cars outside Tezz's cave, and stepped out for a better look.

"I was captured by Vandals... But this isn't Vandal! So far, we are the only living creatures here! What could possibly get in the way?"

Vert's glare was obvious now. "What if there's some kind of mechanical creature there that doesn't give a signal? What your carbon signal is an enemy? What if it caves in? What if it's like a maze, and you get lost? What of the Reds are back there, cloaking their signals? They've done that before! Or, what if-"

"Point taken, Captian." Tezz turned on his heel and headed back to the Splitwire, just as disappointed as Sage had been before. "We should just locate the blue Sentiant signal-"

"Maybe we could all go, Vert?" Agura piped up. Tezz looked up in surprise at Agura's suggestion, then smiled. At least she knew how much this kind of stuff meant to him.

"Yeah Vert," Zoom entered the conversation, "You guys could drive around and I could do recon! Warn you guys to get out before something happens, right?"

Both Cortez brothers nodded in agreement, Spinner even flashing a thumbs-up. Vert stated at the ground for awhile and though, crossin his arms. Zoom was right, having him do recon would help, and having them all go would be safer...

"Captian, what of this is the signal Sage was talking about?"

"... Alright, but we stick together! Zoom, you can start scouting if you want,"

"Yeah! Yo, Sherm!" Zoom called. Sherman was way ahead like always, and the ramp was already in position. "All good, Zoom!"

With Zoom already inside scouting, Vert led the others into what looked like a black wall. It was solid darkness until their headlights pierced through.

"Why did this place have to be so dark?" Vert muttered to himself, only half listening to Tezz's elated rambling on possibilities of what the signal could be. Agura stuck close to Vert as always, with Sherman and Spinner at the end of the line.

"Wouldn't it have shown up as a blue Sentiant signal if it was one, Tezz? You said it was carbon-based," Agura asked. They were fairly deep into the cave by now, and as Tezz mentioned, more than 2000 feet under ground.

"Not neccesarily." He answered simply, still taking in his dark surroundings. Their headlights lit the cave enough to see where they were going, leading through countless twists and turns, much like a maze as Vert mentioned. The rock on the outside appeared to be almost a maroon, but on the inside Tezz couldn't tell. Too dark. They all rode in silence for a time, more focused on tracking the signal than anything. Until the com frequency opened for the first in a long while.

"Guys, I think I found something. No alien, no Sentiant either. A girl." Zoom stated.

Vert nearly stopped. "A girl? What do you mean, Zoom?"

"Like, a girl. A... 12? 13 yr old-ish girl just laying here. She's passed out, too. I don't know how she got here,"

"Lead us to her." Tezz and Vert commanded, nearly at the same time.

Zoom led them all through countless other turns until they all saw what he meant. What seemed to be the end of the cave was a circular dome-like room, with a see through ceiling, the ocean above it. It was calming, with a blue glow to it, as the lights in all 4 'corners' were blue flames. But at the end of the dome, on top of what looked like a pile of stones, was just a girl.

A young, 12-13 year old girl in a plain, white, long sleeved dress that ended above her knees. She had short, coal black hair that ended in a perfect straight line, and bangs that sort of went every which way. She had no shoes, and it seemed her entire body was covered in cuts and bruises. The two most predominant marks though were on her face. She had one gaping wound that stretched from the front of her left ear to the middle of her forehead, and a deep scar that went over her right eye and down to the middle of her cheek.

Vert immediately felt sorry for the child, seeing her in that form.

"How long do you think she's been here?" Zoom pondered. Vert sadly shook his head. "I have no idea, Zoom. Anyone else agree that we need to take her with us?"

Everyone called out a 'yes' or a 'of course' except for the scientist.

Tezz sat crouched in front of the child's sleeping figure, scanner of sorts in one hand and radar in the other. Results of the scan came speeding back quicker than anticipated, the actual results more shocking than expected.

"Ah, Captian..." Vert looked to face Tezz.

"What is it, Tezz?"

The girl's eyes flashed open, revealing no pupil and a blinding white light, almost like staring directly at the sun.

Faint beeping emitted from what seemed to be the girl's head, sofltly, like a heartbeat.

"Well, she's online." Tezz remarked.

"Are you sure? I mean, she looks kind of..." Vert's thoughts trailed off as he looked at the girl more closely. The light from her eyes wasn't as bright now, and it was humanly possible to look at her.

"Yes, I'm positive. What was the outcome the last time you doubted me?"

"Uhh..."

"Exactly."

Other soft noises like clicks and gears were also heard, as the child slowly brought herself to a standing position, much like an automaton.

Then the light was gone. Her eyes were completely normal; a light hazel color with gold flecks near the center.

"Hello, my name is Rei."

"Hola, mi nombre es Rei."

"Bonjour, mon nom est Rei."

"Hallo, mien name ist Rei."

"Ni hao, wo de mingzi Rei."

"Konnichiwa, watashi wa namaega Rei desu."

"Privyet, menya zouvut Rei."

Tezz's eyes widened immediately. He stepped closer to the girl, against Vert and Agura's attempts to restrain him.

"Privyet, menya zouvut Tezz... Priyatno poznakomit'sya."


	2. Encounter: Sage

_Hey, chapter two! Yeah. So... 6 pages in google drive. That's about all my iPod can take, so they won't get much longer... But hopefully not shorter either! XD_

" My name is Tezz, it's good to meet you. "

More beeps. The girl, Rei, tilted her head, and her eyes flashed once more before returning to normal.

"Language domain: Russian. Classified."  
Her voice was smooth; not quite real but not entirely synthesized.

She glanced around a bit, first looking at her surroundings, then at the man who answered her who was currently restrained by a man in red and a woman in green.

" Why are they holding you? " She asked Tezz, this time her head tilted in confusion. Tezz only smiled(which was rare) and laughed a bit.

" I don't believe I was supposed to speak to you, but out of impulse, I did anyway. " " You are Tezz? "  
" Yes. Tezz Volitov. "  
Rei nodded, and jumped up and down like a child.

" Where are you from? Are you from here? Do you think I could come with you? My master discarded me here, saying I had a glitch. My mind is full of holes, and I don't remember much else. But where are you from? " Rei rambled on and on.

The rest of the team all looked like deer caught in headlights.  
"Hey Tezz... What is she saying?" Agura slowly inquired, her grip on his arm loosened.

Tezz sighed. "She wants to know where we are from, and if she can come with us. She says her master left her here because of a glitch, and her memory is a bit faulty." he explained.

"No." Vert immediately answered. Apparently Rei recognized this word.

" What? Why 'no'? I must go with you all! Mr. Tezz, tell them I must go with you! " Rei pleaded, clinging to his leg like a 4 year old. Vert only rolled his eyes.

"She acts like she's 3! She'll be a handful back at the hub, not to mention she could possibly blow our cover!"

"Vert's right," Agura agreed, "She'll have to stay here. What if someone's looking for her?"

Tezz looked down at the child, and gave a sympathetic smile. " I'm afraid I cannot convince them. Once Vert has made up his mind, he cannot be shifted. My apologies, Rei. "

The cyborg's eyes began to water at the edges, and out of instinct, she buried her face in her arms. But just as quickly as she began crying, she stopped.

" His name is Vert, you say? "

Cue evil smirk.

Rei stood up straight in one smooth movement, and fixated her artificial eyes on their leader. " Mr Tezz, please translate what I say. "

He nodded.

" Mr Vert. Either you are to take me with you, to your planet, so I am no longer alone, or I am to activate the self destruct feature I have built into this zone. You know what would happen if an entire zone was to be destroyed, right? "

Vert transferred his gaze to Tezz, who's face was white.

"She says she has a self destruct feature built into this zone and that if we done take her with us, she'll activate it..."

"... Right..."

(time skip of Prussian awesomeness!)

" So you are of E-arth?! My master spoke of E arth, he called it a terrible place! But this is not terrible, not at all! This is most wonderful! Yes, yes! Mr Tezz, you did not say you were of E arth, no, but I am glad to see that you are! Yes, an escape at last! My former master will never find me here! Thank you, much!, Oh, and "

"TEZZ, SHUT HER UP PLEASE!" Stanford demanded. The others agreed; her rambling had become a bit much. It was worse that they had no idea what she was saying.

Tezz told her what Stanford had requested, and the two of them broke out laughing.

" You must tell him that until he stitches my mouth closed, I will never cease speaking! Ever... "

Rei stopped mid sentance to gape at the mastery of the hub. She had been aware that they had gone underground, but she had no idea that it would be so magnificent... Or Sentiant based.

She immediately shifted personalities. " You are with the Sentiants? Oh, yes, I am glad. My more recent master Krytus will be expecting my return, yes! I must tell him of why I've discovered! "

Vert slammed the brakes. "Did she say 'Krytus' somewhere in there?!"

"-Rei? Krytus is your master?-"Tezz questioned, parking his car in it's usual spot.

" Oh yes, he was most kind! He saved me from my creator, Kage, and gave me a new life with new meaning! He said I am to destroy the planet of E arth when I get the chance, but I... Dont want to, "

"Was the mission successful? I assume you did not find the source of the signal, as I got no notification, or... Who is this?"

Sage causally entered the room, with a data pad in her hand, but stopped as soon as she noticed Rei.

Tezz held onto her shoulder to assure she would stay put before introducing her. "Sage, this is... Rei. We found her in the battle zone, and she is not human, rather a type of android."

"There's a bit of a communication problem at the moment," Zoom added.

"But we figured you and Tezz together could figure out how to fix it," Agura finished.

Stanford stepped forward, with an annoyed expression(as usual) and a furious tone, shouting, "She also has a bit of a problem keeping her mouth shut! Teach her how to be quiet, will you?"

"You're one to talk, Stanford," Sherman joked.

By then, Sherman, Spinner and AJ were also in the room, so Rei was introduced to them as well. Then came time to discuss what to do with her.

"You all go ahead to the diner and celebrate like usual, and I will keep Rei here for testing and such. When you return, we will discuss what is to become of her." Sage concluded.

Vert shook his head. "You can't stay alone with her, Sage. She threatened to destroy the battle zone back there, and somehow I don't doubt she has the power."

"I will be fine, Vert. I assure you." She smiled. "Now, come, Rei!" Sage held her hand for Rei, who reluctantly took it.

"-Be back soon, Mr Tezz! I will miss you! -"

"-Ah, right... I will be back soon... -"

(Rei's magical merp derp time skip!)

Rei dangled her feet off the edge of the bed, anxious for Sage's return. Sage actually found a way to undo her language domain(with a bit of trial, error, deactivation, reactivation, etc) and revert it to English, so communication shouldn't be a problem, anymore.

Sage waltzed back into the med bay holding something like a thumb drive, that probably had Rei's results. She plugged it into the main computer, and flipped through some files.

"Well, Rei, I believe this should help with your memory a bit. You remember that you are a 'mirainohito' android, correct?"

Rei nodded.

"You are about 2,459 years old, yes?"

She nodded again.

"Your full name is Kage no Rei, and you are #C6H4C13, a number similar to paradichlorobenzene?"

"Mm hm."

"Well, other than that, you are perfectly fine. Unfortunately, there is a type of barrier installed to prevent anyone from seeing your actual programming, so we will worry about that later."

"Okay!" Rei jumped up from the med bay bed. "Mind if I follow you around, Sage? Until they get back... Oh! Yes, yes, wait until Mr Tezz sees that he no longer needs to translate! He will be very pleased, yes!"

Sage stopped in the middle of the hallway for a moment to face Rei. "Why is it that you only address Tezz as Mr?"

She cracked a childish smile. "He spoke to me first, therefore I see him as my new master. The first voice my audio sensors can recognize is the voice that I obey. Same goes for language, but you fixed that, so... Ah! Would you mind if I addressed you as Ms Sage?"

Sage was taken aback. First, the girl threatens to destroy a battle zone, now she is asking permission to show respect?

"Was your master before actually my brother?" Rei's face became dark.

"Yes, and I hated him."

"Why?"

"He commanded me to do evil things! He forced me to kill and torture, he programmed me to destroy zones and planets, he made me his personal servant... He was evil, and irreversible. I asked only once why I had to do such things, and he gave me this," Rei fingered the scar that stretched across and over her right eye.

Sage felt Rei's pain. She knew her brother could be and was sadistic, but to do such things to a child who didn't look a day over 11? It was unforgivable. "Rei, I "

"OH! What is this?" Rei had run off again to inspect something. First, it had been the mainframe. Then the bathroom. Then Spinner's video games. Then a rack of guns.

Now the kitchen.

"This is amazing!" Rei screamed. There was suddenly a pile of ice cubes on the floor, surrounding her feet as she switched the dispenser on and off. When she flipped it on, she would giggle uncontrollably, then watch as ice would 'magically appear.'

"OH!" Now it was the sink. Water flowed continuously, until she would apply different amounts of pressure to the handle to vary the stream.

She was genuinely fascinated.

Then she opened and closed cupboards. Then Sage saved her from the stove.

Then she found Mt Dew in the fridge.

"Oh dear," Sage muttered as she watched Rei from the corner of her eye, still picking up ice cubes.

Rei shook the can around a bit, then poked a hole in the top big enough to drink from with her thumb.

"You're supposed to drink this stuff, right Sage?"

"Ah... Yes, but Rei I really don't think you should be "

Too late.

"This stuff is reeeeeeeeeeeeally good, Sage...!"

(Magical Mt Dew influenced time skip!)

"Were back, Sage! Rei!" Vert called. "Were you guys ok?" Sage came running through the automatic door.

"Rei... found soda..."

"What?!"

CRAAAAASH. "Ahaha... Aha, this is cooool!"

"Oh dear..."

**Well this was long for me ^^; Next encounter will be Vert. In anyone has ideas, tell me!**

**_Rei: You will find more of that magical green liquid that burns, yes?_**

**_Waffle: Ahha... Yeah sure, in my fridge. *runs for life*_**


	3. Encounter: Vert- Painful Memories

***Rei steals mic from Waffle Girl* Greetings, humans and non humans! It is I, Kage no Rei, here to announce a third installment in my tale! Now, a few words- Waffle Girl would like to deeply thank both authors Melosa and Mr War for their continued support, and wishes to inform them that they are most of her motivation. She also wishes to say that Mr War's requested chapter will be the fourth installment. I thank thee, as does my comrade Waffle, and we wish that you enjoy Vert and I's encounter~**

* * *

Vert flipped the lights to the kitchen(which Sage had managed to fix, from Rei's last discovery). "Questions. Now." He said sternly, never lettin up on that confused glare aimed at Rei.

He sat at one end of the kitchen table and Rei sat directly across from him. The others just sort of stood or sat where they wanted. Her curiosity began to get the best of her as she absent mindedly glanced around at the other things in the kitchen he had yet to 'play with', such as the microwave, coffee maker, and some other cooking contraption that was unidentifiable, even for I, your narrator.

"Who are you, exactly? You've mentioned Krytus, and some other master," Vert asked, glancing at Sage for approval almost. She nodded.

"Well..." Rei started. "_Mr Tezz, what should I say? What if they take it the wrong way, and they kick me out, or they contact_ "

"_They aren't. I won't let them, okay? I promise you_," Tezz answered, smiling. Rei still seemed nervous, and her curiousity of the kitchen was all but dead.

"Promise me something first." Rei demanded.  
It was Vert's turn to be uneasy, but he and the others reluctantly nodded.

"You won't get rid of me no matter what I say. Promise?" Sadness coated the word 'promise', like an hurtful memory.

"I can't promise that, Rei."

The android's eyes began to water, and she quickly averted her gaze from everyone. Pink dusted her cheeks when she looked up again, and shockingly Vert's face was no longer serious. It was confused, regretful. She hid her face in her hands.

"... Guys, could you leave Rei and I alone for a moment?" Vert requested.

"What for, may I OW, Agura!" Stanford started, but was interrupted by Agura's elbow making contact with his stomach.

"Sure, Vert. Let's go, guys, STANFORD," And with that Agura led them out of the kitchen, with Tezz standing hesitantly in the doorway for a moment before leaving with the rest.

The door clicked shut and Vert sighed. Rei sneezed, startling both of them. It wasn't an actually sneeze, more like a high pitched cough. Shee rubbed her nose a bit before looking back up.

"What happened, Rei? You can tell me, I promise," He looked at her apologetically, and smiled.

"Hold on," she voiced, and hit a few internal commands. Another sort of light came from her eyes, and images began to fly across the room, much like the psychadelic episode Sage has experienced before.

"_Good morning, dear! My name is Dr Kage, do you know who you are?" _

_"Hello. My name is Rei,"_

_"Good, good! Well, you see, Rei, I built you for a purpose."_

_"What is it, master?" _

_"There's a nearby planet," "E arth?" _

_"Yes. E arth is in our way. My master, Krytus, had determined that this planet is to be destroyed. Are you able to do so?" _

_"I believe so. I am to destroy the planet E arth?" _

_"Yes, Rei." _

The image shifted. Very already felt a prick of betrayal in his mind. So, she wasn't lying about being able to do so...

"_That is my sister's planet," _

_"Yes, Master Krytus! Master Kage told me of it, how pretty it is!" _

_"It was, wasn't it? But now it is dead," _

_"Is it? Oh dear, too bad," _

_"Yes... Too bad..." _

A third image, or perhaps it is to be called a memory, flew by. Rei looked older in this memory, and more battle scarred. A look of discontent painted her face, as she lowered a blaster.

"_My deepest apologies, Master Kage. It had to be done." _

_"Rei, what hap... REI! How could you do this?!" _

_"I am sorry, Master Krytus, Master Kage was in my way." _

_"You selfish girl! You defied your programming, how dare you!" _

Krytus then swiftly knocked the girl to the wall, and several crunching noises were heard, probably gears or motors.

_"I should have know the project had failed. You're nothing but a piece of scrap, always have been! I don't know why I've kept you around! You have no emotion, no feeling or sense of wrong! You're just a walking piece of metal!" _

Other Reds heard the commotion, and entered the room to see the show. Krytus just kept slashing and hurting the girl, never taking his fist or his blade away from her already damaged body. It was a chore to keep her synthetic eyes open.

"_You! Diad! Take her and dispose of her in a water based zone. Let her rust until she falls apart_,"

A trembling little diad came and retrieved Rei, letting her use him as support. Using a type of battle key to open a portal, the diad took Rei to a water based zone, as instructed. But he felt sorry for her. She was only doing what she thought was be right, to please her new master. But instead she had only angered him. The diad led her into an underground cave, one away from most moisture, to a dome like room lit only by blue orbs. Rei was almost ready to pass out, or power down technically, so he set her down gently on a pile of rubble.

Rei shut off her visual projector, and gazed at Vert, worrying about rejection. He seen what she did, what she could do. Her history, her hatred and lust for power just like her masters before her. Her eyes went ice cold for a moment, remembering the sensation she'd recieved when she took Dr Kage's life into her hands, and crushed it. But she quickly shook the feeling aside.

"Do you hate me?" she asked, bluntly.

Very shook himself from his thoughts. "What?! No, of course not... I just... Feel for you, I guess," he stated.

She sighed in relief. "You are not angry?"

"I'm not happy with what you did, or what you're supposed to do, but I also saw what you went through. And I'm offering my condolences,"

Bad move, he thought. This could end badly, what if she turns?  
"Thank you, Vert Wheeler. You cannot possibly know how much this means to me."

But I do, Tezz thought, still standing outside the kitchen door. He'd been listening in on the conversation and listened to the voices of her memories, just to make sure Vert wouldn't be so harsh on her. But to his surprise, Vert was gentle. Accepting.

"But I must return to my people, eventually. And when that day comes... I am deeply sorry,"

* * *

**Waffle wishes to remind thee that reviews are love! To her, anyway. I prefer a trusted weapon, personally. Well, enjoy, fellow fans! Rei is leaving now.**


	4. Encounter: Family?

**Hello, it is I, the lead in this small tale, Rei! The woman of waffles wished me to help express her deepest apologies and begs for forgiveness, there have been many physical, mental, and family-related issues at this time. Not only has our dear author been diagnosed with two... Odd mental disorders, her grandmother has been bedridden, and her grandfather has broken his foot. Well, now that the apology and excuses are out of the way, let us commence! We also apologize that this chapter is a tad shorter than the others, but it is here! **

* * *

I sent her off after that. Turns out Tezz was behind the door, listening to everything, so she didn't have to go far.

It bothered me, how she could be so indifferent about all of it. I mean, Krytus raised her to be just like him, a power hungry, battle obsessed warrior. But as soon as she showed any sort of power, strength, he destroyed her. Or, at least attempted. She managed to survive due to the kindness of a diad.

We found her after that. After she'd been laying deactivated for several years, Tezz found her and activated her on accident. She began speaking Russian, which Sage fixed, and took a liking to most of us.

I wondered why I had been so cold to her at first, telling her she had to stay there. Almost leaving her. Seeing her so innocent, with the mind of a child... It was cute in a way.

"Vert? Are you still here?"

I looked up from the kitchen table and saw Sage barely floating off the ground in the doorway. I smiled, escaping all that I'd just been contemplating and walked over to her. We traveled in silence back to the main room, then just sort of stood there awkwardly. Sage began clicking random commands into the computer, breaking the silence with a few beeps.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Sage cut me off. "Vert... It's about Rei,"

Not what I had expected... "What about her? Is it about Krytus?"

She shifted a bit, placing her hands behind her. "It's just... You know how old she is, correct...?"

"Uh, older than you? She didn't really say, though I got some clues from her backstory,"

Sage nodded at me, but I was still a tad confused. "What are you getting at, Sage?"

The lights flickered a bit on the computer, and the screen dimmed. I wasn't sure if the others were even still here or not; it was unnaturally quiet.

"Well... She is actually a few years older than me, but she looks like an adolescent human girl, does she not?"

"I guess... She looks about twelve or thirteen to me."

"Vert, she will need a family. You know how your town's sheriff is, if there is no documentation, there is no way he will believe you."

"Are you saying we should legally adopt her? Would she let us?"

"Well, not all of us, I guess, I mean, if you think she would like that the most, but is that legal? I'm not really... I mean, I'm Hm."

Sage was stuttering a bit again. She had earlier this week, but it wasn't as much as it was now. I

thought I knew the reason, but she was Sentiant, I couldn't be sure. If it was the reason I was thinking...

"Are you really suggesting that one of us adopt her? Because that would work, if she'd be alright with that... I mean, we'd have to ask her, but I think she'll be okay with it, right?" I suggested.

I suppose that idea caught her attention.

"If... If that's what you believe will work the best, than I suppose we can do that if you like Vert," she replied quickly.

She stood in front of the computer so strangely, like she didn't want to be here. I laughed a bit inside, and took my opportunity. One of few.

I came up behind her and hugged her for the first time in a while. She tensed at first, but began to remember what I was doing. It wasn't often we could get a moment alone like this, without the team snooping around.

After letting go, Sage turned to face me with a bit of confusion in her eyes.

"I'm gonna go out to Zeke's, see if the team's there. It's unusually quiet here. I'll also go ask Sheriff about getting some papers for Rei. I'll be back, kay?"

The garage door opened, and the Saber was already in position to leave somehow. 'Sage,' I thought.

"Be back, alright? Not like you won't be, but still..."

* * *

Driving down the road I saw most everyone else's cars parked at Zeke's, proving my theory. I could faintly see them from inside the window as I parked the Saber right next to the Reverb, towards the end of the small parking lot.

The bell on Zeke's door jingled when I opened it, drawing their attention.

"Master Vert, you came! I told them all you would arrive, but they denied my prediction!" Rei half shouted at me, brushing her bangs out of her face. Though it was kind of impossible, they always fell right back into place. I saw the Sheriff sitting in his usual corner, and made note that I needed to talk to him before I left. Tezz was sitting on a bar stool with Rei nearly on the counter next to him, and the others were squished at our usual table.

"Hey Vert! Can I get you anything?" Grace called from the counter, notepad in hand. I shook my head and thanked her, and went to sit down next to Rei.

"So guys, Sage proposed something... Something very logical in my opinion,"  
They all looked up, Spinner with pizza still in his mouth. Agura nodded, acknowledging they were listening.

I continued. "So... Sage brought up that a few people may find it a bit strange that Rei would suddenly be with us, and that even if we tried to pass her off as a sister or cousin someone would find out," Actually, Sage hadn't said the last part. It was something I'd thought of right there, that also needed considering.

"So... Someone is going to legally adopt her."

Rei fell off her barstool when I'd said that. With her feet in the air, she rubbed her head, and said something in Russian, which Tezz smiled at.

"Are you being entirely truthful, master Vert? This would imply that I am permitted to stay, correct?"

"Yea, that's what I mean. We thought it through, sort of, and decided on that. If you're okay with it, we mean. And, we sort of wanted your opinion on the whole matter. "

Rei pulled herself up and straightened her dress before delving into deep thought. I made another mental note for Agura to take her shopping for real clothes; she can't wear a tattered white dress forever.

"Aha!" Rei shouted unexpectedly, immediately taking a dynamic pose on the counter. It shocked most of us, to see her just flip up onto the countertop, stand with her legs apart and one hand on her hip, although, it sort of amusing too.

"You! Master Tezz, I choose you!"

He went from indifferent to confused in nearly half a second. Rei's smile grew brighter every moment she pointed at him, while he only stared.

Tezz shook his head for a moment, then looked back at all of us. "Me? Why... I'm, ah, not really good with children..." He tried to say, but as expected, Rei cut him off.

"But Master Tezz! We speak the same language, you are already much of a father figure to me, and you are the one who activated me! It is only the way it should be," she whined.

"Tezz, it's not completely literal. It's really only to avoid suspicion. And she's right, she speaks the same language as you so it'd be a bit more believable." I tried to reassure him.

"But I only arrived, what, a year ago? Wouldn't it be a little awkward for me to suddenly have an adopted daughter? Who's older than all of us, no less." He debated.

"Well, we'll come up with a story. I have to get the papers still, and everything. It's only to avoid suspicion."

"... Fine..."


End file.
